Hatch asserted that the health bills, which he believes represent a “step-by-step approach to socialized medicine,” will lead to Americans’ dependence on Democrats for their health and other issues.

“And if they get there, of course, you’re going to have a very rough time having a two-party system in this country, because almost everybody’s going to say, ‘All we ever were, all we ever are, all we ever hope to be depends on the Democratic Party,’ ” Hatch said during an interview with the conservative CNSNews.com.

That claim led Hatch to suggest that some Democrats are “diabolical” in their pursuit of health reform.

“Do I believe they’re that diabolical? I don’t believe most of them are, but I think some of them are,” Hatch said. “Maybe diabolical’s too harsh of a word, but the fact is, they really, really believe in socialized medicine.”

During the interview, the Utah Republican worried about the health bill’s provisions on public funding for abortion as well as the potential unconstitutionality of the individual mandate conservatives have argued.